


Hectic days lead to forgetful minds.

by Chaotic_Dreamer



Category: Bleach
Genre: Byakuya being mysterious, Family Fluff, Gen, Post TYBW, Pre-Epilogue, Rukia is suspicious, Rukia isn’t a bad mother, Rukia’s relationship status intentionally ambiguous, Slice of Life, Uncle!Byakuya, family-setting, it just happens to the best of us, ship as you will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23775361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaotic_Dreamer/pseuds/Chaotic_Dreamer
Summary: “Nii-sama?” It was the most peculiar of sights. Her brother, head of the Kuchiki clan, captain of the sixth division and the least affectionate person she knew, was currently sitting in a pile of white wrapping paper, wrapping paper with baby pink, yellow and blue chappy adorning it.In which Byakuya tries to be the “cool uncle”, Rukia tries to find out why her brother is acting all mysterious and Ichika just wants to be a Shinigami.
Relationships: Kuchiki Byakuya & Kuchiki Rukia
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Hectic days lead to forgetful minds.

“Nii-sama?” It was the most peculiar of sights. Her brother, head of the Kuchiki clan, captain of the sixth division and the least affectionate person she knew, was currently sitting in a pile of white wrapping paper, wrapping paper with baby pink, yellow and blue Chappy adorning it.

“Ah Rukia,” he stood quickly, pushing something behind the table with his foot, before standing in such a way that Rukia couldn’t see what it was. “Is it time?”

Rukia nodded, craning her neck slightly in an attempt to see what was hidden. “I can wait for you to finish if you’d prefer?”

Byakuya cleared his throat, and if Rukia didn’t know any better she’d say he was blushing. “No that’s quite alright. The third seat can keep vigil over it whilst I’m away.”  
  
“Oh, okay,” Rukia tried not to pout. It was unbecoming of a Kuchiki to pout after all. “Then shall we?”  
  
Byakuya nodded, and gestured to the door, forcing Rukia to leave ahead of him. She was even more curious as to what he was doing now he was being so mysterious about it. He even went so far as locking the office door and slipping the key into the lining of his Shihakushō, which made Rukia think of poor Renji, and how he was going to get back in once he’d returned from lunch break. The image of a forlorn sixth division lieutenant, sitting on the floor outside the office door, looking like a lost puppy, briefly distracted her from the reason why the door was locked in the first place.  
  
“Ensure no-one enters whilst I am away. If Abarai returns, inform him that I wish for a full inventory of Division Sixth Shihakushō storage.”  
  
“Will do Captain,” there was a pause. “What if Abarai needs something from his desk...”  
  
“What part of "‘Ensure no-one enters" did you not understand?“  
  
“Right, no, I understood sir... It’s just that...” Byakuya glared at the poor officer. “You know what never mind. No-one is allowed in. Got it.”  
  
Rukia watched on in amusement, it was eating her up not knowing what her brother was doing. Especially with Chappy wrapping paper.  
  
“So,” Byakuya intoned before Rukia could even formulate the words she needed to find out about the present. “Which monstrosity of a street food vendor are you subjecting me to today?”  
  
This was their “thing” as people had started dubbing it, every Wednesday, Rukia would pick up her brother from the Sixth Division barracks and they’d have lunch together. They’d take it in turns to pick what they ate. Byakuya’s idea of lunch was usually a picnic, or heading back to the Kuchiki manor to enjoy a “proper meal”, Rukia’s weeks were a little more adventurous and included exploring the first couple of districts to find good old fashioned street food. Once they’d exhausted all the Soul Society foods, she wanted to branch out into the Living World.  
  
“I hope you like spicy, greasy finger food,” she taunted, knowing that at least two of those things would be the very definition of a nightmare for her prim and proper brother. The look of horror on her brother’s face was enough to make Rukia forget about the secret gift and just enjoy their lunch break.

~*~

Now that Rukia knew her brother was hiding something, she tried everything she could in order to find out what it was. Using her acting captaincy as an excuse, she often wound up at the sixth barracks in order to just ask a simple question, that any captain could have answered, and not just one that was housed at the other end of the Seireitei. By her fourth trip over, Byakuya had moved his activities elsewhere, meaning Rukia had to find something else to do, instead of continuously asking how to fill out a requisition form, or how to authorise extra expenditure on the monthly budgets.  
  
She tried using Sentaro, sending him to Renji with Lieutenant paperwork, but that just ended up with more paperwork for her. She even tried asking Renji, who was either as much in the dark as she was, or had gotten very good at lying in the past sixty or so years she’d known him. In the end, she contemplated stooping to the lowest of lows and using Ichika, knowing Byakuya would never be able to resist the charms of his niece. Prepping the four-year-old with such a mission wasn’t as easy at first thought though. Especially when the four-year-old only had to climb in through the window, to be greeted with sweets and other distractions, meaning her mission, was all but forgotten in favour of other things.  
  
Her brother it seemed, had thought of everything in order to hide whatever it was he was hiding from her.  
  
“How do you even know it’s for you?” Renji had asked one evening, after training.  
  
Rukia glanced up at him. “You know what it is!” she accused, flicking him with the end of her towel.  
  
Renji held up both hands in defeat. "I don’t, he never tells me anything, I’m merely stating the fact that it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for you...“  
  
Rukia frowned and sat down on a bench. They were using the tenth’s training grounds, purely due to the fact it was most suited for Rukia’s Bankai. She screwed her towel up in her hands and threw it in her bag. “So what? He’s in a relationship and doesn’t know how to tell me?”  
  
“How does wrapping a present with Chappy wrapping paper equate to him being in a relationship?”  
  
“I don’t know!” she cried exasperated. “It’s the first thing I thought of,” she said scowling, what else could it be? “It’s not my birthday... oh...” the penny dropped.  
  
“I’ll let you sit in remorse over the realisation that you are a terrible mother for not remembering your own daughter’s birthday.”  
  
Rukia hit him, hard, with Kidō.

~*~

Ichika was usually the first up, at such a young age she didn’t understand the meaning of sleeping in, or even sitting and playing with your toys in your room until someone comes to get you. Oh no, being up and awake at five am, to Ichika, meant that everyone else should be up at five am, regardless of status, rank or what time they went to bed last night. Especially when it happened to be her birthday.  
  
She changed quickly, she loved being able to get herself dressed, and chose a pair of trousers and a t-shirt one of her parents had gotten from the world of the living. She couldn't remember which parent, only that it was much comfier to play in than what all the other children her age were wearing, plus it made her uncle pull a really funny face whenever he saw her. Once dressed, she attempted to brush her hair with her Chappy hairbrush, but it was just so tangly that she gave up and threw her brush across the room in disgust. It only took a second for her to run after said brush and cradle it in her hands, kissing the back of it, on the rabbit's nose, as a way of apologising.  
  
She waited a grand total of five minutes, although, in her mind, it seemed like five hours, sitting on her bed, feet kicking, waiting for someone to come and tell her that breakfast was ready. When no-one arrived, she, like she did most mornings, gave up waiting and started looking for someone to play with.  
  
Her first attempt was her parent’s bedroom. They were both still asleep, one snoring, the other with a foot stuck out from under the blankets. She tried her mum first, poking her nose and planting a wet sloppy kiss on her forehead.  
  
“It’s your turn to let the dog out,” Rukia muttered, rolling over in bed and falling back asleep again. Ichika pouted but moved quickly on to the other person in the bed. Climbing on them, she stared down at them before sticking a finger up their nose and reaching out to pull hair. A hand was swatted as if Ichika was naught but a fly and she giggled, before attempting to pull hair again.  
  
“Go ask your mother.” came a muffled grunt and that was Ichika’s cue to give up. It was usually like this, neither of her parent’s liked being woken up in the morning, but as soon as they were, they usually showered her with love, so she didn’t mind it too much. Plus there was another member of the household, who usually didn’t mind being prodded and poked in place of an alarm clock.  
  
Her uncle lived in the main building, having gifted Ichika’s parent’s a private building of their own when they had gotten married. The walk was short between the two buildings, well to someone of normal height it was short, but Ichika had been receiving Shunpo lessons from her uncle, so the distance was covered quickly with a few quick steps.  
  
His room, whilst sparsely decorated, was big and was usually her favourite place to play hide and seek in. There was a back entrance to an old meeting room that didn’t get used anymore, that was the perfect place to sit and wait. Especially after she found a stash of sweets in a jar on a shelf. She wasn’t heading for the meeting room today though, instead, she knelt down next to her Uncle’s futon and pressed a finger to his forehead. She knew better than to startle him away with a poke or a prod. They came later.  
  
His eyes opened and she smiled. “Happy Birthday Uncle"!" She whispered, misunderstanding the fact that people were meant to say that to her, not the other way around.  
  
There was a soft smile, and the man stood up, patting her on her head. Her uncle smiled funny, it wasn’t like anyone else’s smile, but she liked it. It was her uncle’s smile, and as far as she was aware it was special because he only ever smiled at her. “Happy birthday, Ichika,” he corrected, with a soft tap on her nose. She giggled and held her nose in place. She remembered once that someone had done that and stolen her nose from her, so whenever someone touched her nose now, she made sure to hold it in place. Standing up Byakuya strode to the terrace doors and pulled them open, letting the sunlight stream through. “Have you done your warm-ups this morning?” he asked, and she shook her head, she had been too busy trying to wake people up to remember. “You may start now, whilst I get changed and then we shall head down to the dining room together. Where are your parents?”  
  
“Sleeping,” she squeaked, jumping up and running to the open doors.  
  
“Of course they are...” she heard him mutter before she took off running laps around the koi pond.  
  
She was in her fourth lap when she saw her uncle emerge from his room and she ran over to him. “I’ve done four!” she exclaimed proudly.  
  
"Her uncle looked at her. "But you are five now are you not?" Ichika nodded. "So you must do five laps every morning. How many more do you have to do?“  
  
Ichika frowned, tongue sticking out, counting on her fingers. “Just one?”  
  
Her uncle smiled at her. “Correct,” clapping her hands in delight that she got it right, she took off for one more lap of the pond.  
  
Adding the fifth lap, when she was so used to doing four hurt her breathing a little bit, but she pushed through. The whole point of this, according to her uncle, was to get her ready for the academy. If she wanted to follow in her family's footsteps, she needed to join the academy and to do that, she would do one hundred laps of the koi pond if it helped.  
  
She stopped running and lay down on the grass, not caring that the dampness from the dew was clinging to her clothes. She heard footsteps approach then stop and she turned her head to see her uncle, smiling at her. “Well done,” he said, and she burst with pride.  
  
She sat up and hugged her knees. “Can I be a Shinigami now?”  
  
“Soon enough, little one,” he uncle responded, holding out a hand to help her up.  
  
Ichika took it and kept a hold of it as they walked towards the main building. “How soon is soon?” she asked. She hated that word, along with: ‘ _maybe later_.’ Why grown-ups didn’t give a specific time, she’d never know.  
  
“Soon,” her uncle reiterated and Ichika pouted. “Don’t pout, it's unbecoming of Kuchiki to pout '' which only caused Ichika to pout even more. Her uncle sighed. “Come along, I believe it is customary to receive presents when it’s one's birthday.”  
  
This cheered Ichika up. “Presents?” her uncle nodded and she squealed, before half pulling half dragging him towards the house.

~*~

Rukia awoke with the sinking feeling that she was forgetting something. She’d double-checked the budgets, submitted payroll, amended the division manifest and stapled on transfer request so what was she forgetting? The lump in the bed next to her snored loudly and she kicked it, experimentally.  
  
The lump grunted, rolled and with a thud landed on the floor. Rukia chuckled, the western-style bed she’d commissioned from the twelfth division was definitely worth the comfort, if not the entertainment factor when one, or both of them rolled off and onto the floor.  
  
Leaving her partner to disentangle themselves from the bedsheets, she clambered out of the bed and grabbed her robe, before attempting to detangle her hair. She was growing it out, so far it was just past her shoulders, she liked it though. Even if people did tease her that she was starting to look like her brother.  
  
  
As she placed her brush back on the dresser, one that looked very similar to her daughter’s, she caught sight of their family picture. The three of them, herself, Ichika and....  
  
“Damn! Ichika’s birthday!” She hadn’t forgotten, she’d just been so busy, with Bankai training and running the thirteenth that the days had just rolled into one. She was so close, if she could just get Sode no Shirayuki to work with her, she’d be ready to take the Captain’s Proficiency Exam in the next couple of months, if not before the end of the year. Grabbing the Shikashou that was lying in a heap on the floor, she sniffed it before pulling it on and rushing out the door. “Don’t be late,” she called back towards the lump on the floor. “She’s your daughter too!”

~*~

Ichika’s room was empty, causing a round of curses from the stressed mother. No matter how many times they’d explained to her to not go wandering around, she still did. There wasn’t a day that went by that Rukia was glad Yachiru wasn’t around, both her and Ichika together sounded like a recipe for disaster.  
  
Along with an empty bedroom, the study and the living room were also empty, prompting Rukia to venture over to the main building. Ichika had some sort of magic about her that caused her normally strict brother into a softer version of himself. On a normal day, it warmed Rukia’s heart to see. Today, when she was already feeling guilty about forgetting her birthday, Rukia just felt jealous.  
  
The shouts and cheers of jubilation led Rukia to the main building living room, whereupon entering she was nearly run over by a four-wheeled vehicle with rabbit ears. She side-stepped out the way, and Ichika, with the poise and grace of a Kuchiki, spun the steering wheel and narrowly missed hitting the now closed door. The car tilted onto two wheels, before bumping back onto four with a thud.  
  
“Look, mum! I can drive!” came the high pitched cheer of her daughter and Rukia looked astounded over to her brother.

Byakuya merely shrugged, cool, calm and collected. Littered around the room was white wrapping paper with pastel coloured Chappy. The very wrapping paper she’d seen in Byakuya’s office. “This is what you were hiding? I was this close to convincing Captain Soi-Fon that she needed to send in a squad to investigate.” She glanced at her daughter again. ”What is that?“  
  
“I believe they call it a ‘ _Little Tikes Cosy Coupe'_?” Rukia stared at him. “I found somewhere that would customise one to look like Chappy.”  
  
If Rukia was being completely honest, it was taking everything in her power to not squeal, run over and try and ride it herself. It looked utterly adorable, of course, anything customised to look like Chappy would be utterly adorable, what made it even more adorable was the delighted screams of her daughter as she raced around the room.  
  
Someone pressed a cup of tea into her hands and she sat at the table noticing that the car wasn’t the only thing that had been unwrapped. “Nii-Sama...” Her brother looked at her, sipping his tea calmly. “What else did you buy for Ichika?”  
  
“Well I have a reputation of ”cool uncle“ to uphold,” he stated, the words and slang not matching his tone of voice. “There’s the Cosy Coupe, the baseball glove, the custom Ambassador Seaweed Plush, a new set of training Hakama, much comfier and in-style than the world of the living clothes she’s become fond of and...”  
  
Rukia held up a hand curtailing the list of presents Byakuya had bought for his niece. '“I get the picture,” she grumbled, she was the worst mother.  
  
Byakuya seemed to pick up on her discontentment. “I mean no disrespect, I merely meant to succeed in my duty as an uncle, I was speaking to...”  
  
“It’s fine, I’ve been so busy and stressed lately, with Bankai and studying and running a division, that time slipped away from me. It slipped away from both of us, so thank you. Thank you for being there and ensuring she isn’t forgotten about.”  
  
Byakuya nodded and returned to sipping his tea. Ichika had moved on from the car and was now using Ambassador Seaweed to attack a plush toy that resembled a red pineapple. “How is your Bankai coming along?”  
  
“Fine, I think' I'll be ready in about six months.”  
  
Byakuya placed his cup on the table and glanced at her. “You have been given ten years to perfect it, there’s no shame in using what you have been given.”  
  
Rukia sighed and moved her head a fraction to dodge a flying ice dragon figurine that came from Ichika’s general direction. “I know, but I’m the last one... Isane, Lisa, even Tetsuzaemon have all taken and passed their exams before me.”  
  
“All who have been Shinigami longer than you, let alone have more experience being a Lieutenant.” Rukia didn’t want to get into blaming him for that last point. “And you really shouldn’t compare yourself to Captain Yadōmaru, she's had a hundred years to perfect her Bankai, finishing in ten years is still an admirable achievement.”  
  
Rukia sighed, her brother was right, it was only the same as to what everyone else had told her as well. Be patient, they said, take your time, things will work out, but despite being one with ice, she preferred the fast pace of water, then the slow crawl of a glacier, especially when it came to her development.  
  
The door to the dining hall opened at that point, revealing a walking pile of presents.  
  
“Presents!” Ichika crowed, no morning or anything as her second parent walked in the room, the present pile was scattered on the floor and the five-year-old wasted no time in digging in.  
  
“Couldn’t be outdone by the uncle,” whispered a voice in her ear and she smiled, accepting the kiss to her cheek.  
  
“Thanks,” she whispered.  
  
“Of course, I’ll always have your back.”  
  
Rukia smiled fondly at her family. She knew that, and she knew that she had to be patient, she should be enjoying the time with her loved ones, before the real work started before Ichika went off to the academy and before anything else could befall them.  
  
A hand was placed in her and she squeezed it in response, she needed to live in the here and now, to not rush forward like waves against the shore, but slow and steady, savouring every moment they had together.  
  
Something was placed in her lap, an orange-haired troll with a grumpy look on his face. “Play with me, mummy?”  
  
“Of course I will,” Rukia said, sliding off the chair and onto the floor. “Now then, shall Ambassador Seaweed defend the princess from the Ice Dragon or the evil Doctor Aka-Pine?”  
  
Ichika giggled in delight and rushed off to grab her new toys, Rukia smiled. Bankai training and becoming Captain of thirteen could wait, today was a day for the family.

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been a fan of bleach for over fifteen years now, but this is my first time writing for it. I’m a failure I know, anyway, hope you enjoyed this slice-of-life, domesticity. Also please let me know what you thought of the way I portrayed Rukia’s partner. I left it up to the reader’s choice. I wrote it with Renji in mind, but I’ve made friends in the fandom who ship HitsuRuki and IchiRuki, to name a few, so I wanted a way to be inclusive to all ships, so your feedback is welcome!
> 
> Major shout out to my sister, for beta-reading, taking out wayward commas, coming up with the title and just being awesome. It's nice to be able to send you a fic and it be for a fandom you enjoy just as much as I do!
> 
> I own nothing but my own chaotic dreams.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and until the next fic.
> 
> *Gin style* Bye-Bye!


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